A new era of Dynamite begins with AEW’s debut in Seattle! With a new presentation, All Elite Wrestling’s flagship show felt fresh, clean, and a lot of fun this week. Combine that with a show loaded with fresh new stories and directions, and it resulted in All Elite Wrestling Dynamite feeling special. The Seattle crowd brought the fire as well! They were chanting, cheering, and booing throughout the packed show. But how did the show itself stack up?
Let’s talk about it!
Ricky Starks vs. Chris Jericho
The opening match for this new era of Dynamite was between Ricky Starks and Chris Jericho. It should have come as no surprise to anyone that Chris Jericho was the first AEW Superstar to be introduced in this revamp of the show, but it was well deserved. Jericho had an amazing 2022, which was continued in an amazing match with Absolute Ricky Starks.
The story revolved around Ricky Starks not needing what ‘The Ocho’ was selling. Jericho offered Starks a spot in the JAS, but the Absolute One denied him. This led to Jericho wanting to embarrass Starks in a match, which he tried to do here.
This entire match revolved around Starks needing to overcome Jericho and his gaggle of goons to win. Both guys traded high impact moves all over the ring. Starks emulated the Undertaker with the Old-School rope walk and hit a massive Liger Bomb for a two count. Starks also did something rare by taking to the skies with a moonsault that missed and might have tweaked his knee. That was cool to see. Jericho continued to prove that he still has it by hitting an awesome suplex onto the floor, hitting a flawless Codebreaker, and reversing the RoShamBo into the Walls of Jericho. This is where things got really interesting.
Despite being in the Walls for a long time, Ricky Starks refused to submit. This caused Matt Menard to strike Starks in the face with Floyd the Bat in hopes of knocking the Absolute One out behind the referee’s back. Ricky Starks overcame literally everything to escape the Walls, apply a sneaky inside cradle, and steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Chris Jericho is now on an official three match losing streak. Fantastic match to start Dynamite!
4/5
The inevitable JAS beatdown followed the match. Action Andretti came down to help Ricky Starks, but the numbers game got both of them. Jake Hager proceeded to powerbomb Starks through a table, which was a cool visual. The story revolving around Jericho’s losing streak would have been cooler, but this was fine.
Segments:
- Tony Schiavone brought Hangman Adam Page down to the ring to discuss his health and the possibility of being cleared to face Jon Moxley. Unfortunately, Hangman was not cleared but could be next week after one more brain scan. He promised to knock Moxley’s “dick in the dirt.” That’s a new one. Moxley answered the call and they had an awesome and intense promo battle, despite microphone issues. Next week’s match should be fantastic.
- Samoa Joe’s backstage promo calls Darby Allin a “Little Dead Boy.” Joe should be champion forever, please! He’s incredible in this role. Darby shall pay for showing insolence in Samoa Joe’s kingdom later in the evening.
AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Acclaimed (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal
Up next was the AEW Tag Team Championship between The Acclaimed and the team of Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. Jeff Jarrett wanted to hurt Max Caster after the Acclaimed MC verbally assaulted his wife during last week’s rap. This whole match revolved around Max Caster’s continued attempts of getting under Jarrett’s skin.
And Caster was successful too. He used Kurt Angle’s Ankle Lock and taunted Jarrett throughout. This tag match was fairly standard, as Bowens got isolated until Caster got a hot tag. At one point, Billy Gunn was ejected after trying to attack Jay Lethal.
The match went haywire toward the end though, but it was the perfect kind of haywire. Jay Lethal locked Bowens into the figure four, Satnam Singh threw Caster into the steel steps, and then Jarrett hits The Stroke. Bowens had put his leg on the bottom rope, but the referee didn’t see it as Sonjay Dutt removed the leg, and Jeff Jarrett picked up the win.
But wait!
A group of referees, including Aubrey Edwards, had come down to escort Satnam Singh away from the match. Aubrey had seen Dutt remove the leg, which caused the match referee to restart the match. Bowens quickly eliminated Jarrett and rolled up Jay Lethal to retain their Tag Championships!
3.75/5
AEW has done the Dusty finish before. That type of finish is awesome when done correctly, and this one was perfect. Everyone hates Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, so allowing them to be sent all sorts of vitriol in the few moments of elation after their victory, only for The Acclaimed to steal their belts back, was a moment of cinema. That was fantastic!
Segments:
- A brief sit down interview with Britt and Jaime Hayter followed that match. They were asked about Saraya’s mystery partner. They don’t care who it is but also don’t believe Saraya gets what AEW is all about. This was simple and good. Britt had a nice Mercedes Mone’ tease too.
- Jungle Boy was backstage with Hook, and they are teaming up against Lee Moriarty and Big Bill Morrissey.
- Hometown boy, Bryan Danielson, quickly disposed of Tony Nese up next. Nese grabbed the early advantage, but it didn’t matter. The match was over quicker than a hiccup, as JR would say. Bryan eventually hits the Busaiku Knee and Labelle Lock to finish Nese. The American Dragon grabbed a microphone and proceeded to challenge MJF to a match during the show. MJF absolutely said no, but he gave Danielson some stipulations. Both guys went back and forth in a hilarious segment where MJF called Bryan “brain dead’ and Bryan called MJF’s mom a woman of many “human suitors.” It was so silly and perfect simultaneously. After Bryan acquires the #1 contender’s spot, he and MJF are having a 60 Minute Iron Man match at Revolution. Whoa.
Swerve Strickland vs. AR Fox
Up next was the match between former Lucha Underground rivals, Swerve Strickland and AR Fox. Swerve was trained by Fox a long time ago, which enabled them to know each other’s moves. This match was fantastic. AR Fox has an amazingly innovative offense, and Swerve is the perfect heel. The dominant bully fits Swerve to a tee.
AR Fox came out fast with a flurry of moves, but Swerve quickly turned it around. Both guys traded momentum, but Swerve’s entourage was the inevitable kicker. Referee Rick Knox was distracted by the face tat guy whom nobody knows, which allowed Parker Boudreaux to give Swerve some kind of weapon. Fox was neutralized by this weapon, which allowed Swerve to hit a nasty Death Valley Driver on the apron, and a Swerve Stomp to win the match.
3.75/5
Swerve Strickland is going to be a huge deal in 2023.
Segments:
- Saraya, Toni Storm, and Hikaru Shida were backstage with Renee Paquette discussing Britt Baker and Jaime Hayter. Saraya believes that she’s trying to advance AEW, while Britt is holding it back. Toni is angry about getting screwed and having her face broken by Jaime and Britt. Saraya then announces that Toni will be her partner next week, except this announcement seemingly pissed Hikaru Shida off. Shida’s face was priceless here. There’s a major storyline surrounding this match, but AEW has done a phenomenal job of clouding what is going to happen.
- Immediately following that, The Gunns came down to the ring to mourn the year of FTR. They treated this segment like a funeral, which was hilarious, and listed off every belt that FTR has lost. FTR’s music played, but it was a farce, as the Top Guys were still in Japan. The Gunns have become can’t miss television. They’re so silly and fun.
Jade Cargill & Red Velvet vs. Keira Hogan & Skye Blue
Ever since Red Velvet returned to the Baddies, there has been some friction between her and Jade Cargill. This was evidenced last week, but Red and Jade set aside their differences to take on Kiera Hogan and Skye Blue this week. This match was a nice display of all four women while advancing the story and character work of Jade and the Baddies.
The story of this match was great. It all revolved around how good Jade is. Skye Blue and Kiera Hogan worked seamlessly together against Red Velvet, but Jade would dominate them when she tagged in. The ineptitude of Red Velvet angered the TBS Champion. This caused Jade to force her way back in, thrust kicks Kiera, and hit her with a Choke Slam. Red Velvet had enough of the beratement, leaves the match and the Baddies, and Jade picks up the victory. Good match, but an even better story!
3.5/5
- Renee Paquette was backstage with Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal immediately following the match to discuss the outcome of their match earlier. Jarrett and Lethal were obviously angry that they couldn’t steal the AEW Tag Team Championships, so Battle of the Belts will have a No Holds Barred AEW Tag Team Championship match.
TNT Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Darby Allin
ANDDDD NEWWWW!!!!
Darby Allin had his eyes set on the TNT Championship in the main event of this week’s Dynamite. He was formerly one of the greatest TNT Champions ever but hasn’t sniffed the title scene ever since. If this match is any indication of what we’re going to get now that Darby is champion, the fans are in for a treat. This match was awesome!
The whole story revolved around Darby needing to dig deeper than he’s ever had to beat Samoa Joe. Sting had some choice words for Darby last week on Rampage, which seemingly sparked a fire inside of Darby that wouldn’t be extinguished.
The match started when Samoa Joe decided to attack the young phenom Nick Wayne, who was sitting at ringside. Darby and Joe brawled all over the arena before the bell rang. Darby hit a senton from atop a ladder, but hurt his leg in the process. After the bell rang, Darby continued the attack until Joe spiked him into the corner of the steel steps.
This led to Samoa Joe trying his damndest to neutralize Darby Allin. Dominant Samoa Joe is the best. Darby couldn’t fight back against the much larger Joe, who systematically dismantled Darby Allin and his hurt knee. Joe did a knee breaker that was incredibly innovative.
Despite all of Joe’s efforts, Darby Allin would not be denied. He channeled the Icon and threw Samoa Joe into an uncovered turnbuckle, hit the Code Red, and finished Samoa Joe with TWO Coffin Drops. Darby Allin is your TNT Champion once again in a great match!
4.25/5
Match of the Night
Overall:
And that was Dynamite for this week! The new era of Dynamite has put All Elite Wrestling in an amazing spot heading into 2023. Everything about this episode was on point and perfectly executed. Awesome evening of Professional Wrestling!
Verdict: 5/5